This is a touchy blog to write because Glenn Beck is a polarizing figure, but I’m going to write it anyway, and you can make up your own minds on its worth. One either hates him, loves him or has no idea who he is.

He began his television career with a CNN program on politics, books and commentary. He was then hired for much more money to move to FOX News Channel where he resided for two years. His show on FOX was politically incendiary, to say the least. Many still believe that he was forced off due to certain “offended personalities” on FOX who didn’t like the fact that Beck had garnered on an almost daily basis the largest audience share at FOX. As Beck explained it, he was at a point of moving on to bigger projects, which he undeniably accomplished.

Since leaving FOX, he has secured two large television studios in New York City and in the Dallas area. His studio near Dallas is the former location where many large-scale movies such as JFK and Silkwood were filmed. He made enough money to entirely pay off his investments in the new studios in less than half-a-year. He now has a handful of shows produced at the new studio with future plans for 24/7 programming as well as book publishing, theatrical movie productions and television documentaries and entertainment. His revenue is in the millions per year.

His variety of GBTV daily programs, including his own daily show, is online for a $9.95 monthly membership and $99.95 for a yearly membership. Wall Street Journal has written of him several times regarding how he’s spearheading the viability of online programming. Whatever you think of his politics, he’s unquestionably become a media mogul and a technological innovator to be reckoned with, not to mention a major thorn in the butt of the political left.

In describing Beck, I would say that if there are two kinds of people, those who see the leaves and those who see the forest. Beck is the one who sees the forest. I would further say that most, if not all, major media outlets produce reporting on the daily leaves.

Beck is an outsider for many reasons. Within mainstream media, almost no one agrees that his “big picture” predictions logically follow from their “micro picture” events of the day. This would include big names from the right such as O’ Reilly, Hannity, Limbaugh, etc. He’s basically on an island to himself, but it’s a big island and his megaphone that he’s shouting through is wired for globalwide emergency-siren sound. This doesn’t seem to rattle much those in the mainstream media who still view him as nothing more than a large-scale (very large-scale) huckster peddling fear and dread.

He has many books, some non-fiction and some fiction (many would say all fiction), and he has a new book, Cowards: What Politicians, Radicals, and the Media Refuse to Say, which was just released today.

I’ll offer here what Beck is offering for free on his website: the entire text of chapter four on “Economic Terrorism”:

If you don’t wish to buy the book, there are free ways to approach it. Thumb through it the next time you’re in a book store or follow the Amazon.com link to occasionally read the arguments for or against the book from people who have read it.

If you’re to the left of center and you’ve wondered why President Obama has not accomplished more of what he promised in his first term and why he has lost much of his support from the left, you can thank (I firmly believe) Glenn Beck for being a large part of the reason. I’ve said it before, don’t just read about those you agree with–know your enemy as well (if you consider Beck as such). Don’t just listen to what blogs tell you about what you want to hear, do some research on opposing views and contrast them to what you’re being told to believe.

This is perhaps our most important election in decades close on the horizon, if not in the last century, and it’s worth understanding not just who you’re voting for, but more importantly, what you’re voting for–not just in the short view “trees” approach, but in the long view “forest” approach as well.